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Category: existential risks – Page 58

Earthlings 800 years from now can breathe a little easier.

A fresh assessment of a distantly risky asteroid brings good news: it’s even less of a threat than astronomers had feared.

The chances of an asteroid dubbed 1950 DA crashing into Earth were always tiny and long in the future: As of 2015, scientists had calculated that the object had a 1 in 8,000 chance of impacting Earth in the year 2880. But a new analysis released on Tuesday (March 29) knocks the asteroid out of the top spot of NASA’s list of known asteroids that are most potentially hazardous to Earth.

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Glutamate decarboxylase 67-kDa isoform (GAD67), which is encoded by the GAD1 gene, is one of the key enzymes that produce GABA. The reduced expression of GAD67 has been linked to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Additionally, the excitatory glutamatergic system plays an important role in the development of this disorder. Animal model studies have revealed that chronic blockade of NMDA-type glutamate receptors can cause GABAergic dysfunction and long-lasting behavioral abnormalities. Based on these findings, we speculated that Gad1 haplodeficiency combined with chronic NMDA receptor blockade would lead to larger behavioral consequences relevant to schizophrenia in a rat model. In this study, we administered an NMDAR antagonist, MK-801 (0.2 mg/kg), to CRISPR/Cas9-generated Gad1+/− rats during adolescence to test this hypothesis. The MK-801 treated Gad1+/− rats showed a shorter duration in each rearing episode in the open field test than the saline-treated Gad1+/+ rats. In contrast, immobility in the forced swim test was increased and fear extinction was impaired in Gad1+/− rats irrespective of MK-801 treatment. Interestingly, the time spent in the center region of the elevated plus-maze was significantly affected only in the saline-treated Gad1+/− rats. Additionally, the MK-801-induced impairment of the social novelty preference was not observed in Gad1+/− rats. These results suggest that the synergistic and additive effects of Gad1 haplodeficiency and NMDA receptor blockade during adolescence on the pathogenesis of schizophrenia may be more limited than expected. Findings from this study also imply that these two factors mainly affect negative or affective symptoms, rather than positive symptoms.

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (Obata, 2013). Post-mortem brain studies on schizophrenia have shown that GABAergic disturbances are part of the pathophysiology of the disorder (Lewis and Sweet, 2009). In particular, the expression level of the GABA-synthesizing enzyme glutamate decarboxylase 67-kDa isoform (GAD67) is lower in the cerebral cortex of patients with schizophrenia than in that of healthy subjects (Guidotti et al., 2000; Volk et al., 2000; Hashimoto et al., 2003; Hashimoto et al., 2008; Curley et al., 2011). GAD67 is encoded by the GAD1 gene, whose SNPs are also suggested to be risk factors for schizophrenia (Addington et al., 2005). We previously reported that Gad1−/− rats displayed some schizophrenia-relevant behaviors, including working memory, which is important for the functional outcome of schizophrenia (Fujihara et al., 2020a).

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We — educators, scientists, psychologists — started an educational non-profit Earthlings Hub, to help out the kids, affected by the war. We talk to them about STEM, but also about the complexity of the world, philosophy of science, future, and existential risks. We also offer psychological help to their parents. Our advisory board includes NASA astronaut Greg Chamitoff, lead AI researcher Joscha Bach, Professor of Learning and Cognition, author of Netlogo language Uri Wilensky, lead early math educator Maria Droujkova and others. Please share, participate, donate! https://www.earthlingshub.org/

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It claims the ICBM is the largest ever launched.

Reports are in that North Korea have just test-launched their new” Hwasong-17” intercontinental ballistic missile. The longest-range missile platform developed to date by the country, it has been developed, by all accounts, to help “contain” U.S. military threats.

The test launch was guided by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on the 24th of March 2022.

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Wed, Mar 23 at 10 PM CDT.

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Kelly fast, near-earth object observations program manager, NASA

Lindley johnson, planetary defense officer, NASA

VIRTUAL ASTRONOMY TALK:

Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are asteroids and comets that orbit the Sun like the planets, but with orbits that can bring them into Earth’s neighborhood. An asteroid impact is the only natural disaster that could be prevented, so early identification of any potential impact threat is key. NASA established the Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) to manage its ongoing mission of planetary defense – from projects to discover, track, and characterize NEOs to the first test mission of an asteroid deflection technique with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART). Hear the latest on the DART mission and on NASA’s efforts to find asteroids… before they find us!

Continue reading “Planetary Defense at NASA” | >

Is he planning to burn everything down if he can’t win?

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly ordered a nuclear war evacuation drill amid the war in Ukraine. A nuclear war evacuation drill is the process in which people are taken to safe places to prepare for the eventuality of nuclear war. The purported directive comes amid fears of President Putin resorting to extreme measures to force a decisive victory in the Ukraine war.
#russia #russiaukrainewar #nuclearwar.

00:00 — Introduction.
00:28 — Putin Orders A Nuclear War Evacuation Drill.
01:06 — Kremlin Generals ‘Shocked’ By Order.
02:21 — Putin’s Nuclear Threats And Speculation About Family.
04:03 — Russia’s Hypersonic Missile Attacks In Ukraine.

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Continue reading “Russia May Hold Nuclear Evacuation Drill l After Hypersonic Weapons, Putin To Use Nukes In Ukraine?” | >

De-extinction grabbed our imagination in the 90s with Jurassic Park. Scientists have since asked: how possible is it?

According to a new study, nearly impossible. But wait—it’s not all bad news. While bringing back a faithful copy of an extinct species may be impossible, we could bring back a hybrid species that’s a genetic mix between an extinct species and its modern descendant.

Published in Current Biology, the study eschews the grandiose mammoth, instead focusing on a tiny test case: the Christmas Island rat. Hefty in size and loudly vocal when invading docked ships and their cargo, the rodents were last seen in the 1900s. With a stroke of luck, the team recovered DNA from two well-preserved museum samples and compared them against a close relative: the Norway brown rat, a popular lab model for genetic studies today.

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What does this actually mean in concrete terms? And is it an accurate description of Russia’s nuclear doctrine?

By Mark Episkopos

The recent round of tensions in the consistently difficult relationship between Russia and the U.S. has prompted a renewed focus on the Kremlin’s nuclear posture. For years, Western analysts have posited that Moscow adheres to what is often called an “escalate to de-escalate” approach. But what does this mean in concrete policy terms, and is it an accurate description of Russia’s nuclear doctrine?

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